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War, Law & Money for Fantasy Fiction

When
worldbuilding, pick exotic and exciting ways of creating new planets and
societies. Political issues can be anything your people want to stand for.
Never rely on the clichés.

WAR

When
world building, polemology is a good conflict topic. Polemology is the study of
war, defence and diplomacy. Decide what towns or countries are allies, neutral
or enemies. This can change through time. Research world history you enjoy for
inspiration.

Army

• Regular
- These are organised military vocations. They need good pay, or may rebel.

4. Technology
- The military needs to stay ahead of the enemy, and be aware of how to stop
their technology.

5. Health
- Armies needs good medics and medicine.

6. Professionalism
- A trained army is the only way to success. Make them not fear death, but fear
shame.

7. Movement
- Quick and easy movement is essential.

8. Deception
- Bait and lure enemies to traps.

9. Stability - Strength requires balance between defence and attack.

10. Morale - You can boost spirits with... spirits, beer and fun. Use
religion to call in favours from gods.

Combat

Think
about how people fight in close quarters. This is important when writing. You
cannot deliver blow-by-blow accounts, like movies. Writers can use fight scenes
to explore character emotions. Note, big swords and duel weapon wielding may
look flashy, but the weight causes fatigue to the user, as well as being
sluggish.

Weaponry & Armour

The
main types of weapons and armour encountered are the following. I have paired
them to show their historical rise but you needn’t follow my matches.

During
humanities rise, the weapons developed have become better at their main
purpose, killing. We have gone from humble roots, using ourselves as weapons in
fights, to inventing weapons causing instant death, with no skill, like guns.

Armour
materials have changed lots throughout history. They have become lighter,
flexible and more resilient.

• None/Magic

• Martial Arts vs. Wood

• Pike vs. Bronze

• Arrow vs. Iron

• Sword vs. Chain

• Gun vs. Kevlar

LAW

When
creating fantasy cultures, decide their considered criminal activity, and how
criminals see justice. One of the earliest examples of law was the Ten
Commandments, but we moved on since biblical times.

There
are thousands of things considered criminal. Here are some examples to steer
you in the right direction.

Rules

1. Abuse
- Killing - Attempted, Manslaughter,
Murder

2. Abuse
- Major - Sexual, Torture,
Psychological

3. Abuse
- Minor - Kidnap, Libel/Slander,
Verbal/Bullying

4. Criminal
- Theft - Burglary, Counterfeiting,
Stealing

5. Criminal
- Damage - Property, Physical,
Mental

6. Criminal
- Social - Trespass, Indecency,
Noise

7. Contraband
- Weapons - Gun, Knife, Explosives

8. Contraband
- Drug - Trafficking, Dealing,
Possession

9. Contraband
- Inebriation - Driving, Lewdness,
Rudeness

10.
Deception - Evasion - Tax, Justice, Probation

11.
Deception - Breach - Bail, Driving, Curfew

12.
Deception - Illegal - Immigrants, Prostitutes, Conspiracy

13.
Money - Finance - Bankruptcy, Bribery, Extortion

14.
Money - Gambling - Fixing, Illegal, Fraud

15.
Other - Magic - Misuse, Abuse etc

16.
Other - Accessory - Knowing party to any above crime

Punishment

Once
decided what defines crime in your world, you can assign sentences. Perhaps
losing a hand for stealing is a norm in your world. Common sentences can be
things like the following: -

·Community Service - Make convicts repay
their debt to society.

·Prison - Fixed sentence or life,
you decide!

·Death - There are many brutal
options including hanging, guillotine, the electric chair and lethal injection.

·Eye for an Eye - I use this in my
stories.

ECONOMICS

Money
and economics are important in world building. A pauper buying a spaceflight is
unbelievable, unless your cultures made it cheap. Think about how alien
cultures in sci-fi would interact and trade. Focus on what they consider
valuable.

Types

There
are three main types of economic system available to your fantasy cultures.

• State-Controlled
- A central power governs all industries and businesses.

• Market
- Citizens are free to trade and make money, within the confines of law.

Trade

There
are many ways to trade at different levels. Small day-to-day customers trade at
markets, on-line, and in shops. On large scales, companies, and countries trade
by importing goods, and exporting surplus goods. Countries and people can trade
long distance across nations or globally.

Currency

Most
countries have their own currency, unless an agreement is in place like the
Euro. Towns could work on bartering systems, avoiding money.

Money

There
are different payment systems you could use for money. Here are some: -

Coins - Coins are normally used for
smaller every day amounts.

Notes - Usually have more value than
coins, but are prone to forgery.

Electronic - Pay for everything with
debit and credit cards. E-coins are becoming popular too.

Banks

The
evil, shady world of banks unfortunately is a necessary one in the modern age.
A bank stores a customer’s money for them. The bank then lends this money to a
second customer and charges them interest for the privilege. They pay a portion
of the interest to the first customer for their custom.

Pay

Pay
can vary drastically dependant on your type of culture. Capitalism will mean
there will be rich and poor, while socialism provides a level playing field.

Price

Pay
and price will go together. Even the poorest can afford minimal provisions.
It’s supply and demand. Make lists of items found in general stores in your
world. Rate how highly citizens value them. That gives them a cost to set
prices.